Things on the web are always changing and your web action and strategy needs to change with it. So I went through a list of 7 web and social media ideas that needs to be addressed ASAP, now! Most of these ideas are already in use, thought not full developed and its real dimension / power is still not 100% visible. These ideas are great opportunities for business and to look very seriously. And to start let us remind Winston Churchill: “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction”
The individual as a Media “Company”: Content and Media distribution are key. All people online are now individual media companies. Each time someone puts a post in Facebook, Twitter, Flicker or other website with social media features is publishing something to an audience. That person is a media company in that moment. This is something that is now a new paradigm for individuals. From LinkedIn or professional profiles, intra-net people are doing actively media, and in being responsible as a media company for the results of these post. Most of people don’t realize but there are consequences (some more positive other negative) of these posts. Once everything you post online is archived, whether they are news, photos, videos both for personal or professional use. So you need to manage that brand and archive in the better way. Every user of the web (at least the social users) are now a content and media provider “company”.
Businesses as a Media Company: All businesses are now (or need to be) active media companies. Please bear this in mind. Web is multi-cultural but lives from fresh content and very important the distribution of it. So to play web it is about being visible in the search and social media game(s). A web site must be in the content publishing business, there is no other way and from big corporations to small business the way to go is publishing: PR, news, videos, articles… All the Search engines and participants of the social web need content and frequent updates. So the way to go is mixing proper search engine optimization SEO with social media optimization, a balanced mix of both – Total Web Optimization. Social Media websites are based in search and search engine algorithms are now uploading real time data from social media websites and hubs. So content and media participation in social channels must be brought into the business web sites through social bookmarking, Twitter feeds, RSS or widgets providing visitors, customers and users access to media information. The media call to action and forms of information and interaction between the user the crowd and the company.
Niche networks and crowdsourcing: this is any business secret weapon. Whether you choose, WordPress/Buddypress, Ning.com or KickApps or any of the other “white label” customizable social network-building platforms, the concept of creating a “gated” online community that is narrow in focus is smart and if well managed very powerful. Adding to this any web strategy and social media needs to go on the direction of using the wisdom of Crowds. How do you do this is not easy but it is key for any web and social strategy. Using Wikipedia definition: Crowdsourcing is a neologistic compound of Crowd and Outsourcing for the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group of people or community, through an “open call” to a large group of people (a crowd) asking for contributions. So adding niches and specific group of people or specific target communities can do the difference in business and in a success online. With the complexity of the mix between new technologies and the shift between Search and Social to have a performance strong enough one needs to leverage all the direct audiences and talk and communicate with them properly. So know thy niche and groups of influencers and you will rule you industry!
Mobile, smart phones, applets and tablets: the entire concept of connectivity and the access to everything online has changed so dramatically since the advent of mobile namely smartphones / iPhones. So now the challenge is to be aware that the traditional way we were consuming media will become mutated by the way, and the easy way by which we use our smart phones, namely the iPhone. It is much easier to navigate and go through web using applications and surfing in an iPhone. Any person that started using the iPhone knows that after that experience does not want to go back. Also the new iPad if successful is or will change the way browsers and users use the web (it is already doing that).
Virtual Goods & gifts: The creation and selling of virtual goods and gifts is a new must. Virtual goods is an industry already making billions of dollars worldwide and over a billion in the U.S. alone (source: “Inside Virtual Goods: The US Virtual Goods Market, 2009 – 2010″). Buying stuff online to offer to friends on Facebook is now a normal stuff for millions of people and is starting a new trends, viral ways of interacting, new design agencies, an entire new industry that is surpassing all perspectives.
Games and gaming: Games and Gaming is a big industry and becoming part of the new way one works and behaves socially and interacts with our families, friends and even work and business. According to Nielsen Entertainment in August 2009, of the 117 million active gamers in the U.S., 56 percent play games online and 64 percent of those online gamers are female. And the revenues generated from online games is enormous and growing. Also think about games for business. All sorts of industry are using games to get the attention of customers and create calls to action!
Augmented Reality: Augmented reality is now part of daily life, although people don’t realize that. It is no longer a Sci Fi Utopia, if you have any doubts, check all web, mobile and social media apps that are and will change more the way we see and interact with the real World. If you have doubts just think about Skype, Google maps, Google Earth and now the navigation and mapping tools, all the new tools one use in daily life and mainly in smartphones, iphones…
See related article by Aliza Sherman 8 Significant Developments in Social Media You Should Watch